Reporting Frequency, Information Precision and Private Information Acquisition
33 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2010
There are 2 versions of this paper
Reporting Frequency, Information Precision and Private Information Acquisition
Abstract
This study examines whether the choice between quarterly and semiannual reporting affects the precision of investors' information and their private information acquisition activities. In the first part of this study, we show that a firm's reporting frequency has no effect on the average precision of investors' information. However, our analysis of announcement-period price variance and share turnover shows that an increase in reporting frequency does make interim and annual financial reports a more important component of investors' information set, relative to other sources of information. In particular, the results of this analysis suggest that investors of semiannual reporters hold more precise pre-announcement information than investors of quarterly reporters. In the second part of our study, we test one explanation for this finding. We argue that an increase in a firm's reporting frequency reduces investors' incentives to acquire private information between consecutive announcement dates and, consequently, should reduce information asymmetry among investors, increase share liquidity, and stimulate trading. Consistent with this reasoning, we find that quarterly reporters have lower average bid-ask spreads and higher abnormal share turnover than semiannual reporters.
JEL Classification: M41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
By Christine Botosan and Marlene Plumlee
-
By Christine Botosan and Marlene Plumlee
-
By Paul M. Healy and Krishna Palepu
-
Information and the Cost of Capital
By Maureen O'hara and David Easley
-
Toward an Implied Cost of Capital
By William R. Gebhardt, Charles M.c. Lee, ...
-
Toward an Ex Ante Cost-of-Capital
By William R. Gebhardt, Charles M.c. Lee, ...
-
The World Price of Insider Trading
By Utpal Bhattacharya and Hazem Daouk
-
The Market Pricing of Earnings Quality
By Jennifer Francis, Ryan Lafond, ...